


Study in Jade

by Libraflyter



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: And So is Sherlock, And then they fought crime, Azula is a Sociopath, Ergo Azula and Sherlock are almost the same person!, Women Being Awesome, Zuko is the Fire Nation government, inspired by Study in Scarlet, post AtLA finale via AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-03
Updated: 2012-12-03
Packaged: 2017-11-20 03:46:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/580964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Libraflyter/pseuds/Libraflyter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katara finds a reason to team up with Azula.  Azula finds a non lethal way to prove she's more awesome than everyone else.  Omashu will never be the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Study in Jade

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shadydave](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadydave/gifts).



"It was mind numbingly obvious," said Azula with a toss of her hair. "Even an idiot could have seen."

 

"Yes, thank you," snipped Katara as the Omashu inspector led the five-time killer away. "You're brilliant, we're not. We get it." She paused,watching the rock crystal bindings secure the murderer to the transport chute. "It was," she allowed, "impressive that you picked up on the rock dust on the bodies and traced it to the original quarry.  And figured out that only an earthbender who had worked at the quarry could have killed the victims by forcing rock dust into their lungs.  Though how did you know that you’d picked the right earthbender.”  Katara glared at Azula, “You did know, right?  It’s not just that you guessed right on the first go?  Oh Spirits, we’re not going to find a bunch of bodies from your first guesses?” 

 

“I _said_ it was obvious,” sniffed Azula.  “He tracked quarry dust everywhere and no matter how he disguised it, he still moved like a master sandbender, so he clearly had the training to manipulate dust at that level.  The fact that all the victims were also either sandbenders or from that area, given the state of their hands and footwear, showed a personal connection.  It’ll probably turn out to be vengeance over a dead lover or something horribly mundane like that.”

 

“You figure out all that and you gloss over motive?”

 

“Does it matter?”

 

Katara crossed her arms and stared at the princess.  “Of course it does!  Otherwise we’ve just arrested a man for doing nothing than be a sandbender!”

 

“You did catch the part where he confessed?  Unless you are stupider than I thought.”  Katara couldn’t really answer that and continued glaring.  Azula nodded towards the scene of destruction around them  “After all, you were the one who subdued him with an iceball to the head.”

 

“He was choking you to death with the rock dust!”

 

“I’m touched you took my side in the matter.  Really, I am.”

 

“I’m not going to let people die when I can stop it.  I also iced your hands before you could kill him.”

 

“Ah yes, Katara the healer has to save everyone.  You’re lucky I’m a firebender, otherwise that would have left permanent damage.”  Azula flexed her fingers and fire sparked at the tips.  “I’m still getting circulation back.  And it’s not like I was going to kill him.”

 

Katara snorted.

 

“I needed him alive.”  Azula sighed, continually put upon by the need to explain herself to the idiots of the world.  “Why do you think I bothered looking into such a thing like a series of murders in the first place?  I’m here for a reason and I need an in with the Omashu law enforcement.”

 

“Somehow, I think telling them they’re all incompetent and that you’d done a much better job when you were ruling the city isn’t the best way to make friends.” 

 

“It’s a work in progress.  I’m a people person; they’ll come around.”  Azula shrugged.  “Someone stole something from the royal treasury and I want it back.  I’m not leaving this city until I have what I came for, and if I have to solve every petty crime to get it, I will.  Though that doesn’t cover why you are following me around.  Don’t you have an Avatar to babysit or something?”

 

Katara suddenly found it very important to pull the scattered water back into her bending gourd.  It was answer enough for Azula.

 

“My brother sent you.  Instead of babysitting the Avatar, I get you for a nursemaid.”  Azula was thoroughly disgusted by the idea.

 

“For some reason, he still cares about you.”  Katara reconsidered her answer.  “And he definitely cares about anybody you might decide to kill because they get in your way.”

 

“So I’m stuck with you. Charming.”

 

“Well, barring another showdown that somehow ends in your favor, yes.  But that might hamper your whole crime-solving plan and hunt for the mysterious stolen object … Zuko said it was your mother’s jade jewelry box, by the way.  I understand, I was livid when he took my mother’s necklace.”

 

“We’re not going to bond over that, are we?”  Azula wrinkled her nose.  The ensuing images were horrifying.  “I don’t think I could handle that.  You’d probably try to braid my hair.  Ty Lee always did.”

 

“No bonding, got it. Where are you staying?”  Bending gourd in place, Katara turned to her new project.  She was going to be a project, wasn’t she?  Azula considered her options.  She would of course win if they ever fought again, but the waterbender did have a point.  And she had proven useful with Yung, and at least suitably impressed.  Hair braiding aside, she missed Ty Lee’s praise.

 

“I have a place over a bakery.”  Azula paused.  “I did buy the bakery.”  She neglected to mention any intimidation that may have been involved in said purchase.  Which was embarrassingly little, as the woman had decided the poor lost princess needed feeding up and a good roof over her head. 

 

Madam Hui was going to _adore_ Katara.

 

“Greatt!  Lead the way.”

 

Azula doubted this would end well, but at the very least it wouldn’t be boring. 

 

Princess Azula and Master Katara. 

 

It could work.

 

#andthentheyfoughtcrime

 

THE END


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